Mechanical harvesters have been found to be virtually an economic necessity for most medium to large scale farming operations. Relatively few crops are manually harvested, this being particularly true in industrialized areas of the world.
There are several types of mechanical harvesters, including combine harvesters. A combine harvester, as used herein, is a harvesting machine that heads, threshes, and cleans crops while moving over a field. Combine harvesters are often simply called "combines," and this terminology will be used herein. The present invention includes a crop divider for a mechanical crop harvester, but for the sake of brevity the discussion will center on a crop divider for a combine. Those skilled in the art of harvester use and design will appreciate that the present invention can be utilized with a variety of harvester configurations, however.
As mentioned above, the present invention pertains to crop dividers for mechanical harvesters. A crop divider, as used herein, is an apparatus which is positioned at the front of a harvester. The divider "divides" the crop by deflecting the plants' stalks as the harvesting machine proceeds forwardly through the field. The crop is thereby divided into discrete rows for efficient cutting and handling by the harvesting machine. This crop division is particularly important and troublesome when the crops are grain drilled and the crop density is high, though the invention is not limited to grain-drilled crops.
A crop divider can include a pointed "snout" at its frontmost end, the snout assisting in the dividing function described above. A crop divider can further include a sickle or knife, for cutting the stalks of the plants, and rotating paddles or the like to aid in the cutting and processing of the crop. A combine typically includes a platform to which a crop divider apparatus is operatively connected, the platform including an auger which inwardly propels the cut crop to a conveyor to remove the cut crop to another portion of the combine. As well known to those skilled in the art, the sickles and paddles mentioned above can be connected to the platform rather than the crop divider.
A crop divider preferably possesses a number of desirable characteristics. It should readily mount on existing harvesting equipment, e.g., a combine platform. A crop divider for use in conjunction with a combine, for example, should be simple in construction for ease of maintenance, yet be efficient so that crop yield can be maximized. A crop divider preferably efficiently accommodates a variety of crop conditions including bent, downed, brittle and very ripe crops. Importantly, a crop divider should also be useful for a variety of crops: otherwise, the operator of a machine that is employed to harvest a variety of crops would need to change crop dividers each time a different crop is harvested. The loss of time due to switching dividers and the need for more than one divider are undesirable.
One type of crop divider is represented by the "HEADSNATCHER".TM. brand harvester attachment, manufactured by General Dryer Corporation of Clarkfield, Mn. This type of harvester attachment is mountable on a combine platform and facilitates the harvesting of sunflower seeds, for example. The crop divider includes a plurality of horizontally spaced pans that extend forwardly from the combine platform. The slots between the pans are straight; typically, the slots are 2.5" wide at the forward end of the pan and 2.5" wide at the rearward end of the pan. Furthermore, the slot configurations or shapes are fixed, not being readily adjustable by the operator of the combine.
Additionally, the "HEADSNATCHER".TM. brand harvester attachment pans can optionally support non-adjustable pointed snouts at their front ends. That is, the angle between the snout and the pan is not adjustable.
The "HEADSNATCHER".TM. brand crop divider and similar devices generally serve their intended purposes. Sunflower seeds, for example, can be efficiently harvested by such devices. The constant slot widths and rectangular configurations are compatible with the relatively spindly and occasionally brittle sunflower plant stalks and the non-adjustable snout is typically fixed in a position that properly engages most stalks. Furthermore, the narrow (e.g., 2.5") constant-width slots between pans allow the pans to catch many of the seeds and heads that would otherwise be lost, thus increasing the harvest yield. Yield loss due to "shattering" of dry plants is minimized. Straight slots have also been found to be useful for corn, amaranth, lupines, and beans.
The "HEADSNATCHER".TM. type of crop divider is typically quite efficient for select crops, is relatively inexpensive, and is mountable to existing combine platforms. Thus, this type of crop divider is very useful. Such dividers possess drawbacks, however. For one, the fixed rearward and forward slot widths limit the types of plants that can be efficiently harvested. Bushier plants, e.g., milo or grain sorghum, are not readily guided by the constant-width, relatively narrow slots. The bushier plants become jammed in the straight slots if the slots are too narrow, or seeds fall between the pans if the slots are too wide. Also, the fixed snouts of the "HEADSNATCHER".TM. type of crop divider are not vertically-adjustable and therefore do not consistently pick up bent and downed plants under varying conditions.
Another type of crop divider similar to the "HEADSNATCHER".TM. apparatus discussed above includes pans that define tapered or V-shaped slots. The forward portions of the pans are narrower than the rearward portions. Thus, the slots are wider toward the forward portions of the pans and narrower toward the rearward portions of the pans. Such slots are conceptually compatible with bushier plants such as milo, but are not optimum when used for harvesting sunflower seeds, for example. A tapered slot allows many sunflower seeds and heads to fall through the slots and to the ground, thus reducing yield.
The present invention is directed to the drawbacks possessed by the prior art devices. Particularly, the present invention includes a crop divider that defines slots that are adjustable so that a variety of plants can be effectively harvested. In one embodiment, the forward slot width is adjustable to enable the slot configuration to be variable between straight and V-shaped so that a single device can be used to harvest, for example, sunflower seeds and milo. In another embodiment of the present invention, the forward and rearward slot widths can be varied. Thus even a greater variety of plants can be harvested by a harveting machine incorporating such a device.
The present invention also includes, in one embodiment, a vertically-adjustable snout so that the snout may be selectively angled downward to pick up bent and downed plants.